Shades Of Grey
by goldenshadows
Summary: After being sent on a mission by the mayor, Faith finds herself thrown into another dimension. She has to find a place in middle earth, but darkness isn't easily cast aside. Can a certain elf help her find redemption? Set before The Fellowship Of The Ring
1. Chapter 1

_**Shades Of Grey**_

**I'm going through a lord of the rings phase at the moment! This story takes place about one year before the actual war of the ring starts, around the time Aragorn captures Gollum and takes him to mirkwood. I've actually written a couple more chapters, and have a decent idea for an ending, so it will be finished relatively quickly. Hopefully! It's rated T at the moment, but might go upfor some dark themes later on though. **

_**Chapter One**_

She walked through the forest as quickly and silently as she could, scanning her surroundings all the time, trying to get her bearings. She kept close attention to the shadows on either side of the path she was walking on, trying to sense if anything was following her.

She had only been here for a day, but it was long enough. Already she hated the place. Trees in every direction. The dim, now fading light that barely filtered in from the dense canopy above had a green tint to it. And she didn't like the look of the huge, strong cobwebs that she occasionally spied in the tree branches. It definitely had the creep factor, and not many things gave her that reaction.

It was now starting to get dark and slayer she may be, but she wasn't invincible. She was hungry and terribly thirsty, and there was still no sign of civilization. Damn Mayor Wilkins! And not many things made her say that either!

"It's a simple enough mission, Faith," he had told her in his usual calm and expressionless manor. "It's an item of great value that I've been after for some time. But it's getting close to the Ascension, and I can't afford to let my guard down. You're the only one who can do this for me!"

Of course, she wasn't stupid enough not to ask what the item of great value was, and what was in it for her. He wouldn't tell her the exact details, just that she would get a substantial amount of pay for the job, and it would help them against Buffy and her friends in any future confrontations. That was good enough for her, at the time. But then there had been a few complications and she'd woken up here. Wherever here was!

It was growing incredibly dark now, almost pitch black. Faith was soon about to give up for fear of straying of the path, but then she saw the lights in the clearing up ahead.

She saw a group of people surrounding a fire. Several were standing up around the edges of the clearing, and they were armed with bow and arrow. They all had long blonde hair, but she could see now as she got closer they were all male. What is this, medieval times? She thought with a silent laugh.

Others were sitting by the fire eating and drinking, and Faiths mouth began to water.

Something about these beings made her think they were more then human, their pointed ears standing out for one thing. But they also had…a strength about them. Something….she couldn't place it.

Suddenly, one of the elves standing came to talk to someone who appeared to be the leader of the group. She caught a name "Legolas," but then they started to talk rapidly in some foreign language.

Ok, enough of this, she thought. This hiding won't get you anywhere. Creeping stealthily around the clearing, she was almost inches from one of the armed guards. This was too easy, they hadn't even heard her all this time. She loved being a slayer!

Moving as swiftly as an eagle in flight, Faith took the guard by surprise, and soon had the whole clearing in utter chaos. Before anyone had a chance to aim their weapons at her, she had the guard in a deadly grip, pressing a knife to his throat, so viciously that she drew blood from the skin.

"Stay back!" she warned them all, a dangerous edge to her voice.

Legolas motioned to his small company of woodland elves to stand down, and they all lowered their weapons.

"Who are you?" he asked, speaking in the language of men, for that was what she spoke. He was not unfamiliar with the speech of men.

"Whose the one holding the knife here buddy?" she spat back at him, her eyes shining with anger in the firelight. "I'm the one that's gonna be asking you people questions!"

"Of course," he nodded calmly, wondering how this could be possible. A slip of a girl had appeared mysteriously from the shadows, managing to catch them all by surprise. Such a thing was barely heard of.

He looked upon her now, dark hair flowing past her shoulders, dressed strangely in clothes he had never seen before. She was wild, care free and dark, and even he had the sense to feel some fear.

Faith regarded Legolas through narrowed eyes, sizing up her opposition. He could probably hold his own, she mused, not having any idea of the elf's real strength. Her eyes met his and she was suddenly struck by the beauty of these beings. That was the only word she could think of. All so fair beyond words, she suddenly felt something stir within her. Some dream that she could look that way again, that she could look differently to him. But then that faint hope was washed away by the darkness of all her previous mistakes, ones that would always haunt her.

She tightened her grip, forcing such thoughts away. She didn't know where it had come from, but it wasn't her, not anymore.

"I'm going to do the talking now," she told them fiercely. "And you're all going to listen to me and do what I say."

Legolas nodded at her, wondering how he was gong to get out of this one.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Legolas could sense from his guards expression the pain the girl was causing him. The girl had his arm in a tight grip behind his back, and he knew that the elf was only alive as a shield against the rest of them.

"What's your name?" he asked her softly, trying to think of a way out of this mess.

She shook her head, an almost gleeful expression on her face, as if she was enjoying this assault on his people. "That little trick of yours isn't gonna work. I have questions that need answering, like where am I?"

He was startled by this, and then thought how much he should tell her if she really didn't know. Deciding that secrets would only worsen her anger, he began to tell her about his home, and that of middle Earth, trying to calm and distract her.

By this time, she had settled herself comfortably on the ground, with an ever watchful eye on her prisoner, and had helped herself to food and drink, the other elves standing helplessly nearby.

"So…Leggy something," she addressed the prince of mirkwood.

"Legolas," he corrected her.

"Whatever!" she answered with smile. "You're telling me I've fallen into some kind of fairy tale? I don't think so!"

While she had been talking, one of the other elves had tried to sneak up behind her. She seemed to have some sort of sixth sense, Legolas mused. Because her eyes shot up in his direction. "Try it and this guy looses more then his arm!"

"Anyway, that kind of shit doesn't happen to me. Buffy maybe but…." her voice trailed off and her concentration on her surroundings heightened.

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Legolas burst out, throwing caution to the winds to defend his homeland against her words. "Whatever else this maybe, our lives aren't a fairytale… These are dark times…" Now he also noticed what Faith had sensed earlier. The sound of feet pounding on the earth. "Orcs," he hissed suddenly. "And by the sound of it they have wargs with them as well!"

"You were saying?" Faith muttered, looking on as he turned to his little army.

"It isn't safe to stay here," he told them.

"Hey, its Mr states the obvious!" Faith laughed at them. "How clever of you Leggy. Quite the motivational speaker. But are you forgetting whose giving the orders around here now? It's not like I'm squeamish about taking lives you know. To get what I want."

He whirled round to face her. She had said that so flippantly. On the outside, she looked tough, but he could sense the darkness wearing on her soul, almost winning the battle raging within her.

Faith didn't like the way he was staring at her, almost like he was reading her mind. "What?" she spat out defiantly.

"That I have no problem believing," he told her. "But we have no idea of their numbers. We must hide in the trees and spy out the land, if their numbers outmatch ours, someone must go to my father and warn him."

She shrugged. "Sounds like the coward's way out to me. I personally live for surprises. Whatever life throws at me I take. Besides, I've probably faced worse then whatever these orc things can throw at me."

"That attitude may be your downfall in the end," Legolas said, as if thinking out loud. He looked up at his group who were watching them warily.

"Look," he finally said to her. "On the outside it's clear we're not on the same side. But whether you work for the enemy or not, it would be wise enough to call it a truce and work together."

She was surprised at this suggestion. "I suppose I should agree with you," she murmured. She could use their numbers to her advantage.

"But first, release my friend before you break his arm!"

Rolling her eyes, she shoved the elf roughly forward. There was the catch. Now she had nothing to protect herself. But soon, from the look of things, that would be the least of her worries.

"Go to my father, if you have the strength," Legolas said in elvish, moving closer to him. "Tell him what has happened. Tell him we'll need reinforcements."

The other elf looked at his prince in fear and wonder "You would trust that witch?" he whispered back.

Legolas sighed, torn. "Only a fool would take such risks, but I sense strength in her, she could be of use. So for now. But only for now."

"While you girls are having your little mothers meeting over there," Faith was shouting at them. "We could use a little help here!"

Legolas looked up sharply as the enemy quickly invaded the clearing. In astonishment he witnessed Faith raise her knife and slash easily at a nearby orc. Blood spilled onto the dark grass and the screams of darkness rang out into the night.

Faith had to admire the way these so called elves fought. They had enough speed and wits about them, she supposed that they would be a fair match for her. But soon she focused all her attention on the fight at hand. She didn't notice her captive managing to scramble up into the lower boughs of the trees, and she only barely noticed Legolas moving beside her.

Together they moved simultaneously, dancing around the orc's powerful blows. But then she heard a low growling behind her, and felt a sharp pain in her left shoulder. The wolf had slashed her deeply along her arm, and it was only with her quick slayer reflexes that she managed to avoid loosing it altogether. She stumbled to the ground and turned quickly, just in time to see her attacker lunging towards her. The wolf was huge, and then she remembered the name Legolas had given it. A warg. Immensely larger then the wolves back home and more vicious and ugly, it hovered over her.

Then several arrows flew threw the air and the warg gave out a shrill yelp of pain and staggered backwards. Managing to weakly look around the ground for the knife she'd lost, she reached out with her good arm and took aim herself. Throwing the knife, she watched in satisfaction as the wolf collapsed.

Wincing, she tried to hide the pain she was really in, but when she tried to stand, she found she was surrounded, the arrows now pointing at her. She realised then that someone had gone for backup and that now she was trapped. "Ok you caught me. So where to now?"

Legolas looked at her gravely. "You have violated our lands and our people and you have the potential to cause us great harm. I'll take you to my father, King Thranduil, and he will decide your fate." The prince tried to sound as stern as possible, to cause as much fear that his father, Elrond or even Aragorn could invoke. He knew he didn't pull it off well, if at all

After what seemed like hours, they led her in silence through the forest, until at last they came to its edge. When she finally laid her eyes upon the king's palace, Illuminated by the moonlight, she had to use all her will power not to gape in awe. There was no way that she would admit to being impressed.

They followed a path up to a set of huge stone doors that were set under a hill. The palace was set underground. When she was led though the doors, she found herself walking through a long corridor of stone, lit by red flickering torches. The doors slammed shut behind her, the sound echoing.

As they walked, she saw other corridors and hallways and rooms branching off in different directions. She felt like she had just fallen down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland, and she began to feel claustrophobic. Although, the king's home was actually very spacious, tidy and glamorous compared to other places in middle earth, but it wasn't at all what the dark slayer was used to.

When they finally reached the great hall, she found herself suddenly in the centre of attention.

"Welcome back my son," said King Thranduil. "I'm glad to see you're safe. Who is this stranger you have bought me?"

Legolas explained what had happened as best he could, his father's expression turning darker with every second.

"Since you refuse to tell us your true name and business in our lands lady, and we do not know your true nature or what you're really capable of, I'm going to have to let you spend time in our dungeons."

"Oh, goody," said Faith. "You know, I'll find some way out of here sooner or later. I always do."

"I doubt it lady," he answered smugly. "Only once has someone ever escaped my prison, and since then improvements have been made. This is at least until you are willing to talk more. I give you this chance to explain yourself, because no greater act of violence was done and everyone is still in one peace." He nodded to the guards. "Take her away…"

"I will take her," Legolas offered, interrupting. There was a surprised silence, but then his father nodded.

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Soon after, before the door was closed on her, she looked up at the golden elf in front of her who had taken the time to collect healing equipment on the way for her arm. "I meant what I said up there," she told him softly. "I always find a way."

He said nothing for a long while. "The cut is deep. I will change the bandage in the morning and give you more herbs for the pain"

"I've faced worse," was her only response He gave her a short nod before disappearing and she was soon left alone with her strange dreams.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three**_

_She lay deep in her dreams, trying to fight a way out and to wake up. But she slept on. She saw a vision of a dark wasteland, and a tall dark tower in the distance. Another image came to her of a plain gold ring and then she saw an eye of fire. A voice whispered in the winds but she couldn't make it out. And then finally, she snapped awake…._

Stupid slayer dreams. She shook them away, because she had never bothered with them before.

Looking around her for any sign of a weak point in her prison, she frowned when she looked at the wooden door in front of her. She stood up, and with all her strength aimed a kick in the middle of the door that should have shattered it to peaces. But it stayed intact. She felt something like an electric shock run through her, a very mild one though, and saw a white flash around the door.

"Improvements have been made…" she remembered Thranduil's words, but too late. By this time she'd sunk back onto the floor temporarily stumped trying to remember some of Giles's spells to unblock it, before remembering they probably wouldn't work in this dimension anyway. She winced, not from the pain in her arm, because that had lessened over night but now her wrists hurt from the chains.

Then she heard a key being turned from the lock on the outside, and the door swung open. She stood up immediately on the defence, and saw the very same elf who had escorted her last night.

"So, it's you again." she greeted him, less then happy.

"I've bought you something for the pain in your arm, like I said I would," he answered her. "You must drink this twice a day with food…I've bought you that as well. I also have herbs to apply to the wound. Now…can I see the damage?"

Faith flinched as he reached forward to clean the cut. "Its fine now," she insisted. "I don't know why you're bothering with me….aren't prisoners usually supposed to rot away in their cells or something…." she paused as an idea began to form in her mind.

"By the valar this has nearly closed!" the elf exclaimed in shock. "What magic do you possess for this to be possible? It would normally take several days to a week for it to begin the proper healing process, a cut this deep."

Faith didn't answer at first. "Let's just say I have a few…special gifts that come in real handy," was all she let on to him. "I guess I won't need any of your help today, right? You can just leave the food!"

"I will check on you later," he muttered absently, to her annoyance.

But she took comfort in the plan she'd recently thought up. It would take time and patience, things she didn't usually rely on. But she was good at mind games….and she was sure that it wouldn't take long to twist Legolas into doing whatever she wanted.

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That evening he came again to bring her food, and the next morning. Everyday at the same times, it was always him that came to check up on her.

"Aren't you getting bored of this little routine you've got going on yet?" she asked impatiently, leaning forward as he put the tray of food on the floor in front of her.

"I don't understand," he admitted to her. "I just want to know."

"Know what?" she asked, genuinely curious, despite her better judgement.

"I'd like to know about you."

Oh. "That's what all the guys say," she said lightly. "So….nice defences this place has."

For a moment he was confused by the change of topic, but then he glanced back at the door. "Yes, Gandalf was very helpful after the battle of five armies. He spent some time here in talks with my father."

"Who?" Faith felt like she was trapped in a conversation with Wesley or Giles, when they suddenly started talking about stuff she didn't know or care about.

"I keep forgetting you don't know about these things," he said. "Of course, most of middle earth doesn't know about important business we have to deal with, but…you don't know even the basics do you?"

"I'm not a kid," she said, anger flaring up. "I'm just…not from around here. And look at that…time to change conversation again! Does your father even know you come down here?"

He shook his head in slight amusement. "Things would go easier if you told the truth. Can I at least know your name?"

She sighed and nodded. "Fine. It's Faith."

"Same time tomorrow then…Faith."

As he turned his back on her, she smiled in satisfaction. This was going better then she had hoped. Of course he didn't trust her yet…she was one of his prisoners. But she was sure with the right amount of story telling and excuses, she could easily make him believe she wasn't as bad as everyone thought. Then, when she had found his weaknesses and his own defences were lowered, she was sure she could find a way out of this place.

Legolas's father did in fact know about his son's little trips to the dungeons. It had been he who had suggested it. "If anyone can break her, it will be you," Thranduil had told him. "You can get information out of most, it is one of your many strengths. But be careful….do not trust her easily."

She was more complicated then any of the other captives he had interrogated over the years… and every conversation with her made him weary. He sometimes wished that Aragorn was here to help him. But he and his friend had very different destines to fulfil, and they couldn't always be there for each other. So this he would have to handle by himself.

TBC

…if Faith could just kick the door down, it would be to easy wouldn't it? Hope you enjoyed, thanks for the reviews.


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